Commentary

Obama's Choice in Education | Yo Ho Ho, Hand Over the Tanker

Obama's Choice in Education

Barack Obama is a good father.  After going through an extensive search process, Obama plans to follow in a long line of Democratic politicians by sending his children to a prestigious private school while deploring the use of vouchers.  The Sidwell Friends School, known for educating the children of famous politicians, includes Roosevelt, Nixon, Clinton, Gore, and Biden in the ranks of its alumni, and it can now look forward to Sasha and Malia Obama.  Good for Barack.  He and his wife took it upon themselves to make an informed decision for his children, and personally chose the school that would provide the best education.  Now, he should apply that approach to his political decisions in education, by supporting merit pay and school choice.

The official statement from Katie Lelyveld, spokeswoman for Michelle Obama, reads as follows: “A number of great schools were considered.  In the end, the Obamas selected the school that was the best fit for what their daughters need right now.”  The wording is interesting because it adopts much of the language of the pro-voucher movement.  The Obamas “considered” a number of schools, meaning they, as responsible parents, wanted to choose from the marketplace of available options and find the best.  They desired the “best fit” for their daughters, because they know how important it is to make a good personal decision about education.  And they “selected” the Sidwell Friends School, because they were the ones best equipped to decide the fate of their children’s education.  Clearly, the Obama family believes in personal responsibility and choice in education.

Perhaps Barack Obama does support giving all families the same opportunities he has.  In a 2003 interview, he supported charter schools, proclaiming that “I think that we do have to innovate and experiment to encourage competition in the school systems.” Additionally, in the heat of the 2008 primary for the Democratic nomination, Obama told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that “I will not allow my predispositions to stand in the way of making sure that our kids can learn,” lauding the bold, pragmatic approach that famed school administrator Michelle Rhee has brought to D.C. public schools.

But Obama is, after all, a liberal.  Running for the Democratic nomination, he made it abundantly clear to his National Education Association backers that he had always been a “skeptic” of voucher programs, since they might not be that effective, and have the potential to hurt public schools (and, more importantly, their tenured teachers).  He also framed the issue generationally, calling John McCain’s support for vouchers a “tired idea of the past.”

As with many of his positions, Obama’s true views on school choice are elusive.  As a Democrat, President-elect Obama’s first political instinct is to support the institution of public education and its unionized supporters.  But as a caring father, his first personal instinct is to “give up on public schools” and do what is best for his children: giving them the best possible education, no matter what cost.  If only Obama would allow the personal to influence the political, he could follow through with his rhetoric on education.  Republicans may not get the exact proposals they want, but as Democratic administrations go, Obama’s education pragmatism may be their best hope.


Yo Ho Ho, Hand Over the Tanker

In mid-November the largest sea hijacking in history took place.  A group of Somali pirates overtook a 330-meter long supertanker owned by Saudi Aramco. The ship, Sirius Star, was estimated to have been carrying around $100 million dollars worth of crude oil at the time of the attack. Not only was the attack historic for its literal proportions, but at 450 miles off the coast of Mombassa it also marks the furthest offshore incident in a growing list of attacks.

Large tankers are not the only targets, either.  Last week, Somali pirates fired on an American cruise ship, Nautica, as it made its way from Egypt to Oman, one of the stops on its 32 day cruise. The attackers fired at the ship while racing alongside in speedboats. Fortunately, none of the 1,000 passengers on the cruise ship were injured, and the cruiseliner was able to out-speed the pirates.  However, this attack stands as a testament to the increasing boldness of pirates in this perilous area.
Modern day pirates, in contrast to their better-dressed, peg-legged, and more inebriated predecessors, typically dress in black or military fatigues.  They have traded their swinging ropes for grappling hooks, and cutlasses for automatic rifles, grenades and anti-tank rocket launchers. Modern pirates’ vessel of choice is a 20-30 foot skiff with an outboard motor.  

Since September, NATO has had ships patrolling waters, specifically in the Gulf of Aden where most of the attacks have occurred.  The gulf is situated in the middle of a very busy shipping lane, thus making it an easy target.   Hoping to crack down further on maritime crime in the area, the EU has also pledged its help and will begin sending ships and recon aircrafts to patrol in the next weeks, replacing the NATO force.

NATO has not been the only one to respond to the increased violence; according to Associated Press, a radical Islamic group known as Al-Shabab announced in November that it will fight any pirates who capture Muslim-owned ships.  This statement came days after the report of the capture of the Saudi supertanker, which is currently believed to be docked in a small fishing village while the hijackers work out their negotiations.

Piracy is a lucrative business in Somalia. Some cite the country’s political turmoil as the reason behind the recent surge in attacks. In the past year, nearly 100 ships have been subjected to pirate attacks; of those ships 33 were taken hostage, 12 of which have never been recovered.  A total of 200 crew members have been captured and the bandits have brought in roughly $30 million dollars in ransom, according to UN estimates.

Despite the immediate economic loss companies suffer due to lost cargo and ransom, the increasingly hostile attacks may have further reaching ramifications by causing serious reevaluation with regards to shipping lanes.  Frontline, the world’s largest tanker company, has been particularly worried about the recent attacks, and is currently considering modifying transport routes in order to avoid the perilous Gulf of Aden. Unfortunately, diverting the route could prolong the trip time by nearly 40%, thus making transportation slower and more costly.

On the bright side, maybe something good will come out of these recent attacks. If the pirates continue to target Muslim ships, radical Islamists will direct their resources towards fighting the Somalis. If this (granted, somewhat unrealistic) situation unfolds itself on a large scale, that’s two less groups the United States has to worry about.